PHOTO: FILE
The set up included the placement of the seats at a safe distance and installation of a disinfectant tunnel at the hall's gate. Furthermore, only five to six guests were seated at each table instead of the usual 12.
Speaking on the occasion, KMHA president Rana Raees Ahmed said that they were ready to negotiate with the Sindh government on the matter so as to ensure the proper implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) if marriage halls were allowed to reopen.
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Beseeching the government to let marriage hall owners resume business, he said relevant authorities may then take action against anyone found to be violating SOPs.
"Otherwise, citizens will continue to hold ceremonies at their homes discreetly, which poses a risk far greater," he warned.
Ahmed said that aside from the marriage halls owners, over 50 kinds of businesses affiliated with the sector were suffering due to the restriction on ceremonies and gatherings. He added that daily-wage workers were also adversely affected as a result of this, as on average, 50 people were directly employed at each marriage hall.
He said that citizens who had booked halls before the lockdown were now "threatening the owners to refund their advance payments," but the owners lacked the funds to repay them, which put their lives at risk.
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"If SOPs could be outlined and implemented for other sectors, including transport, industries, shops and markets, then why not for marriage halls?" he questioned, and assured that if allowed to resume operations, they would only allow guests half the capacity of a hall.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2020.
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